An Open Mind
by Teardrop13
Summary: Pietro's body may be healing but Wanda still cannot feel the presence of his mind. Vision suggests a possibility that may allow her to connect to her brother once more.


Wanda stared down at the sealed med-tube before her. With only a brief hesitation, she placed the tips of her fingers against the small glass window of the tube. It stopped her fingertips just inches above Pietro's face.

His eyes were closed, as though he were only sleeping. But the machine behind them still beeped, confirming his lifelessness, while the tube buzzed as it repaired his broken body.

Wanda closed her eyes as well, directing her power down through her arms and out the tips of her fingers; trying desperately to reach out for his mind.

All she got was an ominous blackness. It filled her head with white noise, a buzzing emptiness that she did not like.

"I can assure you he is in no pain."

The voice came from behind her, startling her out of her trance. She pressed her palm flat against the glass, blocking her view of Pietro's face. She took a slow, shaky breathe before turning to face the Vision.

He stood tall before her, arms crossed behind his back. His gaze did not waver from her face. While she knew it was only his version of politeness, it was still very unsettling.

"You can't know that." She said quietly, searching his face anxiously, a small bubble of hope growing in her chest despite her objections. Without thinking, she sent out a probe to search his head. His mind was strange and hard to decipher. His thoughts were so fast she had trouble reading them.

Vision smiled slightly as he felt her intrusion and at once his thoughts took on a slow and careful order.

 _I was in much the same position, if you can recall._ His voice echoed from within her own head.

His mind played out her own memories of him in the med-tube in Ultron's lair. Then flashed to his birth in the Avengers headquarters.

Surprised she quickly retracted her probe and frowned at him.

"How did you know that? You weren't even alive when that happened." She instinctively took a step back, bumping into the cylinder where her brother lay. Her hand came up to rest on it, drawing strength from his proximity. "Can you read my mind?"

The possibility of this had never occurred to her. She realized this is how other must feel around her, privacy invaded and thoughts left bare for the taking.

"I can feel and see things as others have viewed them. So yes, in a way, I can read minds." His eyes scanned her face and noticed her uncomfortablity. "Have I upset you?"

She turned away from him, staring through the glass at her twins face until she could regain her thoughts. She felt his presence behind her, waiting patiently.

"I guess I never really considered how uncomfortable it is to have the privacy of your mind invaded without your knowledge." She turned back to face him. "I apologize for my own intrusion into yours."

"There is no apology necessary. I'm sure it was only concern for your brother that allowed such a lapse." He smiled softly at her and she relaxed, letting her hand slip off the med-tube.

"How can you be sure though? That he's in no pain." She tried to keep her voice steady but if he noticed her uneasiness he did not acknowledge it, simply stepped up beside her to stare into the tube at Pietro.

"When I was in such a state, my mind had not yet formed its own consciousness. There was no feeling. No existence of anything." He looked up from the tube and met her gaze. "That is, until I felt your mind reach out for me. I felt your fear. Whatever destruction you saw inside me was not of my own doing. But I could feel your reaction to it. I could feel your pain."

Wanda stared up at him, thoughts racing. He had felt her intrusion when he had no thoughts of his own. Perhaps Pietro could feel the same? She dropped her gaze from his and looked down at her brother once more.

"I could send him thoughts? Memories?" She directed her question at Vision, but she already knew the answer.

"I do not see why not." He replied, taking his fingers and running them over the glass window in unconscious imitation of her actions.

If he was right, all she'd been sending was fear, and worry. Tormented by such thoughts she placed the tips of her fingers once more over Pietro's face and attempted to send him some notion of calm.

It was not as easy as she expected.

The thoughts she wished to project to him kept getting mixed in with her anxious fear. Groaning with frustration, she pulled her hands away.

"I've never used my powers to send my own thoughts into someone else's head. At least not consciously. Everything keeps getting mixed together." As if in evidence of her frustration, her fingertips crackled with a red currant of electricity. Self-consciously she tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want to send him any more negative thoughts. He shouldn't have to feel my suffering."

The Vision stared at her blankly for several moments. She had to actively resist the urge to search through his mind and see what he was thinking. Finally he reach up to her face, fingertips only inches from her, before coming to a stop.

"May I?" He politely. After a moment's reluctance, Wanda gave him a little nod of her head. His fingers stretched out and lightly touched her temple.

Instantly she could feel his own subconscious weighing on her mind. His thoughts came in clear and simple, his feelings much less so. It was as though a blanket of calm had been thrown over her mind, with no intrusion of the other emotions that came with humanity. It was as close to the mind of a computer as she imagined it could be.

Then her view was blocked, by an image of her own face looking up in blank wonder. He was sending her his own view of her. She blinked and the image was gone. Vision removed his hand from her temple and continued to stare down at her as she adjusted to the return of her emotions.

"How did you learn to do that?" She asked in astonishment. He was younger than her by many years, still just learning the limits of his abilities.

"I believe my connection with the mind stone has allowed me more certain control." He paused, glancing between her and her brother. "Perhaps I could show you? You could use my mind as practice. I believe the saying goes 'practice makes perfect'."

Wanda couldn't help but smile at his reference, though the intimacy he was suggesting surprised her. He would be able to look freely into her mind and she into his. She couldn't deny she was curious. She looked down at Pietro's face, reaching out to his mind as she always did for comfort. But there was nothing for her to feel.

Setting her jaw in firm acceptance, she met Visions eyes with determination.

"You've got yourself a deal."


End file.
